U.S. patent application number 13/809489 was filed with the patent office on 2013-05-02 for method for arc-welding aluminum-coated metal parts using an inert gas containing nitrogen.
This patent application is currently assigned to L'Air Liquide Societe Anonyme pour l'Etude et l'Exploitation des Procedes Georges Claude. The applicant listed for this patent is Pascal Bertin, Olivier Dubet, Sebastien Gadrey, Frederic Richard. Invention is credited to Pascal Bertin, Olivier Dubet, Sebastien Gadrey, Frederic Richard.
Application Number | 20130105445 13/809489 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 43530726 |
Filed Date | 2013-05-02 |
United States Patent
Application |
20130105445 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Bertin; Pascal ; et
al. |
May 2, 2013 |
Method For Arc-Welding Aluminum-Coated Metal Parts Using An Inert
Gas Containing Nitrogen
Abstract
The invention relates to a method for electric arc welding,
without a laser beam, one or more metal parts, in particular made
of steel, including an aluminum surface coating, in particular a
coating consisting of aluminum and silicon, using a protective gas,
characterized in that the protective gas consists of a mixture of
argon and/or helium, and additionally of nitrogen, in particular
less than 30 volume % of nitrogen, typically 2 to 10 volume % of
nitrogen.
Inventors: |
Bertin; Pascal; (Houston,
TX) ; Dubet; Olivier; (Houston, TX) ; Gadrey;
Sebastien; (Houston, TX) ; Richard; Frederic;
(Houston, TX) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Bertin; Pascal
Dubet; Olivier
Gadrey; Sebastien
Richard; Frederic |
Houston
Houston
Houston
Houston |
TX
TX
TX
TX |
US
US
US
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
L'Air Liquide Societe Anonyme pour
l'Etude et l'Exploitation des Procedes Georges Claude
Paris
FR
|
Family ID: |
43530726 |
Appl. No.: |
13/809489 |
Filed: |
May 5, 2011 |
PCT Filed: |
May 5, 2011 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/FR2011/051014 |
371 Date: |
January 10, 2013 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
219/74 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B23K 9/025 20130101;
B23K 35/383 20130101; B23K 2101/34 20180801; B23K 9/20 20130101;
B23K 9/16 20130101; B23K 35/0261 20130101; B23K 2103/04 20180801;
B23K 9/23 20130101; C22C 21/02 20130101; B32B 15/012 20130101; B23K
2101/18 20180801; B23K 2101/006 20180801; B23K 9/164 20130101; B23K
9/173 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
219/74 |
International
Class: |
B23K 9/16 20060101
B23K009/16; B23K 9/173 20060101 B23K009/173 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jul 13, 2010 |
FR |
1055688 |
Claims
1-12. (canceled)
13. A process for the electric-arc welding of at least one metallic
part comprising a surface coating based on aluminum, using a
shielding gas, wherein the melting of the metal of said metallic
part is carried out solely by the electric arc, with no laser beam
contributing to the melting, wherein the shielding gas consists of
a mixture of argon and/or helium, and nitrogen, said shielding gas
containing at least 0.025% and at most 30% by volume of
nitrogen.
14. The process of clam 13, wherein the shielding gas contains at
least 0.025% and at most 20% by volume of nitrogen.
15. The process of clam 13, wherein the shielding gas contains at
least 3% by volume of nitrogen or less than 10% by volume of
nitrogen.
16. The process of clam 13, wherein the shielding gas contains at
least 4% by volume of nitrogen and at most 8% by volume of
nitrogen.
17. The process of clam 13, wherein the shielding gas contains from
5% to 7% by volume of nitrogen.
18. The process of clam 13, wherein the metallic part or parts
comprise a surface coating based on aluminum having a thickness
between 5 and 100 .mu.m.
19. The process of clam 13, wherein the metal part or parts are
made of steel with a surface coating based on aluminum and silicon
(Si/Al).
20. The process of clam 13, wherein the metal part or parts
comprise a surface coating based on aluminum and silicon containing
a proportion of aluminum between 5 and 100 times greater than that
of silicon.
21. The process of clam 13, wherein the metal part or parts
comprise a surface coating based on aluminum and silicon containing
a proportion of aluminum between 5 and 50 times greater than that
of silicon.
22. The process of clam 13, wherein it is a MIG welding process
with consumable filler wire.
23. The process of clam 13, wherein the part or parts to be welded
are one or some motor vehicle components.
24. The process of clam 13, wherein several parts are welded with
one another, typically two parts.
Description
[0001] The invention relates to a process for the electric-arc
welding of steel parts comprising a surface coating based on
aluminum, in particular a coating of aluminum and silicon, using a
shielding gas formed from nitrogen and argon and/or helium.
[0002] Certain steels coated with aluminum or with an alloy based
on aluminum, such as USIBOR.TM. steels, have very high mechanical
characteristics after hot-drawing and are, therefore, increasingly
used in the field of the construction of motor vehicles, when a
weight saving is desired. Indeed, these steels are designed to be
thermally treated then quenched during the hot-drawing operation
and the mechanical characteristics which result therefrom enable a
very significant lightening of the weight of the vehicle compared
to a standard high yield strength steel. They are mainly used for
manufacturing bumper beams, door reinforcements, center pillars,
window pillars, etc.
[0003] Other steels coated with aluminum or an aluminum alloy are
also used for their properties of resistance to corrosion and to
heat. Mention may especially be made of the Aluzinc.RTM. steels
used for external constructions or switch boxes, Alusi.RTM. and
Alupur.RTM. steels for mufflers, heat screens, lagging of boilers,
flue linings, applications in electric power plants or in the
petrochemical industry.
[0004] In theory, all conventional arc welding processes, such as
MIG welding, MAG welding or else brazing processes, can be used for
assembling these aluminized steels.
[0005] However, it has been observed in practice that after an
operation for the arc-welding of parts coated with aluminum or with
an aluminum alloy, a phase with lower tensile strength appeared at
the weld metal zone of the welded joint. This phase consists of
intermetallic compounds or of delta ferrite.
[0006] In case of Usibor, after analysis, it was determined that
this phase contains a significant percentage of aluminum which
gives rise to no austenitic transformation of the steel during the
treatment thereof before drawing, that is to say that this phase
remains in the form of delta ferrite and the result thereof is a
lower hardness than the rest of the part having undergone a
martensitic/bainitic transformation.
[0007] However, the non-transformed phase may lead to cracks or
even a rupture of the joint. Indeed, these zones containing the
delta ferrite phase, having incorporated aluminum, have a lower
resistance of the weld than that of the base metal.
[0008] A process for laser-arc hybrid welding of steel parts with a
surface coating based on aluminum has already been proposed by
document EP-A-1878531.
[0009] Although this process gives good results in certain cases,
the implementation thereof is complicated since it requires
combining the effects of an electric arc with those of a laser
beam.
[0010] Furthermore, it makes it necessary to invest both in an arc
welding source and above all in a laser welding source, which
generates a high cost and additional maintenance operations which
may be detrimental to the overall productivity of the process.
[0011] The applications targeted in MIG welding are the welding of
studs, or various components made of steel to aluminized sheets, or
the welding of two sheets together as in the case of mufflers.
[0012] The problem which is faced is hence to propose a welding
process of simple implementation that makes it possible to obtain
good mechanical properties of the welded joint, in particular
tensile properties, during an operation for welding steel parts
coated with aluminum or with an aluminum alloy.
[0013] The solution of the invention is a process for the
electric-arc welding of at least one steel part comprising a
surface coating based on aluminum, using a shielding gas, wherein
the melting of the metal of said metallic part is carried out
solely by the electric arc, with the exclusion of the presence of
any laser beam participating in the melting of the metal,
characterized in that the shielding gas consists of a mixture of
argon and/or helium, and nitrogen.
[0014] The gas mixture used in the process of the invention is
therefore formed solely from argon, helium or both to which
nitrogen is added so as to constitute an Ar/N.sub.2 or He/N.sub.2
binary gas mixture or an Ar/He/N.sub.2 ternary mixture.
[0015] As already stipulated, the expression "process for the
electric-arc welding" is understood to mean a welding process
within the context of which the melting of the metal is carried out
solely by an electric arc, which therefore excludes the presence of
any laser beam brought into play in order to melt the metal of the
part or parts to be welded. It then follows therefrom that
arc/laser hybrid welding processes are excluded from the field of
the present invention, an arc alone not reacting in the same way as
an arc assisted by a laser beam.
[0016] Depending on the case, the process of the invention may
comprise one or more of the following characteristics: [0017] the
shielding gas contains at least 0.025% and at most 30% by volume of
nitrogen. [0018] the shielding gas contains at least 0.025% and at
most 20% by volume of nitrogen. [0019] the shielding gas contains
at least 0.025% and at most 15% by volume of nitrogen. [0020] the
shielding gas contains at least 1% by volume of nitrogen. [0021]
the shielding gas contains at least 2% by volume of nitrogen.
[0022] the shielding gas contains at least 3% by volume of
nitrogen. [0023] the shielding gas contains less than 10% by volume
of nitrogen. [0024] the shielding gas contains at least 4% by
volume of nitrogen. [0025] the shielding gas contains at most 9% by
volume of nitrogen. [0026] the shielding gas contains at most 8% by
volume of nitrogen. [0027] the shielding gas contains at least 5%
by volume of nitrogen. [0028] the shielding gas contains at most 7%
by volume of nitrogen. [0029] the shielding gas contains at least
5.5% by volume of nitrogen and at most 6.5% by volume of nitrogen.
[0030] the shielding gas contains around 6% by volume of nitrogen.
[0031] the steel part or parts comprise an aluminum-based surface
coating having a thickness between 5 and 100 .mu.m, preferably of
less than or equal to 50 .mu.m. The coating covers at least one
surface of the part or parts but no or virtually no aluminum-based
coating is present on the edges of ends of said part or parts, that
is to say on the edges of a sheet for example. [0032] the metal
part or parts are made of steel with a surface coating based on
aluminum and silicon (Al/Si). [0033] the metal part or parts
comprise a surface coating based on aluminum and silicon containing
a proportion of aluminum between 5 and 100 times greater than that
of silicon, for example a proportion of aluminum of 90% by weight
and a proportion of silicon of 10% by weight, i.e. a surface
coating layer comprising 9 times more aluminum than silicon. [0034]
the metal part or parts comprise a surface coating based on
aluminum and silicon containing a proportion of aluminum between 5
and 50 times greater than that of silicon, in particular a
proportion of aluminum between 5 and 30 times greater than that of
silicon, in particular a proportion of aluminum between 5 and 20
times greater than that of silicon. [0035] it is a MIG (Metal Inert
Gas) welding process with consumable filler wire, for example a
solid wire or a flux-cored wire. [0036] the part or parts to be
welded are one or some motor vehicle components. [0037] the welding
voltage used is between 14 and 35 V. [0038] the welding intensity
used is between 80 and 300 A. [0039] the part or parts to be welded
have a thickness between 0.6 and 2.5 mm, preferably between 1 and 2
mm. The thickness is considered at the joint plane to be produced,
that is to say at the location where the metal is melted by the
electric arc in order to form the welding joint, for example at the
end edge of the part or parts to be welded. [0040] the pressure of
the gas is between 2 and 15 bar, preferably less than 12 bar, in
particular around 4 to 8 bar. [0041] the flow rate of the gas is
less than 30 l/min, in general less than 25 l/min, typically
between around 15 and 20 l/min depending on the application
considered. [0042] several parts are welded with one another,
typically two parts, it being possible for said parts to be
identical or different, in particular in terms of shapes,
thicknesses, etc. [0043] the parts are made of highly alloyed steel
(>5% by weight of alloy elements), weakly alloyed steel (<5%
by weight of alloy elements) or unalloyed steel, for example carbon
steel. [0044] the welding wire is a solid wire or a flux-cored
wire. [0045] the welding wire has a diameter between 0.5 and 5 mm,
typically between around 0.8 and 2.5 mm.
[0046] The invention will now be better understood owing to the
following description.
[0047] The proposed solution is therefore to produce a welding of
aluminized parts, that is to say of parts comprising a surface
coating of aluminum or preferably of an aluminum alloy, such as
preferably an Al/Si coating, by means of an electric arc alone
(i.e. without the presence of a laser beam) and of a particular
shielding gas.
[0048] In order to do this, according to the present invention, use
is made, during the arc welding, of a shielding gas that makes it
possible to obtain a stabilization of the arc on the aluminum and
to decrease the dissolution of the aluminum-based coating in the
molten metal of the metallic part or parts to be welded, that is to
say in the welding joint.
[0049] This particular shielding gas is composed of argon and/or
helium with an addition, by volume, of nitrogen of 0.025% to 30%,
preferably from 3% to 10% of nitrogen.
[0050] This gas mixture results, by reaction between the aluminum
and the nitrogen, in the formation of aluminum nitrides which have
a better electrical emissivity, thus reducing the arc movements and
the size of the cathode spot, therefore leading to a stabilization
of the welding arc.
[0051] Furthermore, the aluminum nitrides float at the surface of
the pool, thus preventing the dissolution of the aluminum present
at the surface of the part. This results in a suppression or at
least a significant reduction in the incorporation of aluminum into
the weld, therefore an improvement of the tensile strength due to a
total or almost total disappearance of the phase in the form of
delta ferrite or of intermetallic compounds that is customarily
observed.
[0052] The gas mixture used can be produced either directly on site
by mixing of the constituents of the desired mixture in the desired
proportions using a gas mixer, or be in pre-packaged form, that is
to say produced in a packaging factory then transported to its
place of use in suitable gas containers, such as welding gas
cylinders.
EXAMPLES
[0053] The process of the invention has given good results during
an operation for the manual MIG arc welding of Usibor 1500.TM.
parts, that is to say of steel parts coated with a 30 .mu.m layer
of an aluminum/silicon (Al/Si) alloy in respective proportions of
90% and 10% by weight.
[0054] The welded parts have a thickness of 1.2 mm.
[0055] Within the context of the tests carried out, the gas used (%
by volume) which is dispensed at a flow rate of 20 l/min and at a
pressure of 4 bar, is: [0056] Test A (comparative): pure argon
(100%). [0057] Test B (invention): mixture formed of argon and of
2% nitrogen (N.sub.2). [0058] Test C (invention): mixture formed of
argon and of 4% N.sub.2. [0059] Test D (invention): mixture formed
of argon and of 6% N.sub.2. [0060] Test E (invention): mixture
formed of argon and of 8% N.sub.2. [0061] Test F (comparative):
mixture formed of argon and of 8% by volume of CO.sub.2.
[0062] The torch used is a MIG torch sold by the company DINSEE fed
by a filler wire of Nertalic 88 (ER 100 SG: AWS, A 5.28) type sold
by the company Air Liquide Welding, having a diameter of 1.2 mm,
which is delivered at a rate of 2.8 to 3.5 m/min.
[0063] The welding voltage is around 15 V and the intensity is
around 128 A; they are obtained by virtue of a generator of
Digi@wave 400 type (short arc/short arc +) in synergic mode (EN
131) sold by Air Liquide Welding France. The welding speed achieved
is 20 cm/min.
[0064] The parts to be welded together form an angle of around
45.degree. and the joint plane formed by the apex of the angle
[0065] The results obtained show the significant influence of the
nitrogen since the presence of N.sub.2 in the argon leads to much
better results than the use of argon alone.
[0066] Indeed, with argon alone (Test A), the arc is unstable and
the transfer erratic, that is to say that large drops of molten
metal form. The joints made under argon all have a degraded
appearance. It is possible in particular to observe a lack of
wetting at the edge of the beads and these have a significant
overthickness. Furthermore, during the welding, the formation of
large spatters of molten metal droplets and also a lot of fumes is
observed.
[0067] Conversely, with the Ar/N.sub.2 mixtures according to the
invention, there is a notable improvement in the results, which
improvement increases proportionally to the N.sub.2 content in the
mixture up to around 6% to 8% under the test conditions.
[0068] Thus, with the Ar/N.sub.2 mixture containing 2% N.sub.2
(Test B), the transfer of metal is more stable than in Test A but
the bead is not completely free of any defect, although the
improvement is already remarkable. Indeed, the arc stability may
still be occasionally disturbed, although arc ruptures are not
present very much, or are even nonexistent. The phenomenon of
formation of large drops during the welding also decreases. The
addition of 2% nitrogen to the argon in fact improves above all the
top/bottom wetting of the bead.
[0069] By increasing the addition of nitrogen to 4% in the argon
(Test C), without changing the other parameters, in particular the
electrical parameters, a general improvement in the surface
appearance and an acceptable wetting at the top/bottom edge of the
bead are observed, and also an improvement of the surface
appearance of the bead: weak solidification lines and not very
large overthickness at the center. These results are satisfactory
and reproducible. The melting of the wire is good with a correct
and more stable transfer. The corner joint results have an
acceptable wetting at the top/bottom edge of the bead. The pool
remains on the other hand still slightly "cold" and may be
difficult to handle under certain conditions.
[0070] The increase of the addition of nitrogen to 6% (Test D)
results in a general and more notable improvement of the surface
appearance and a good wetting at the top/bottom edge of the bead.
The surface of the bead has only very faint lines and also a very
small central overthickness.
[0071] In Test E, 8% nitrogen is added to the argon. The surface
roughness of the bead has decreased further, the wetting is good
and there is little adherent spatter. From an operational point of
view, the addition of 8% nitrogen to the argon makes it possible to
obtain a stable transfer with good melting of the wire. It is
interesting to note that with this mixture a real operational
"flexibility" is obtained because it enables an adjustment of
parameters (variation of wire speed or variation of voltage) which
is not possible under pure argon and not necessarily as easy with
the other argon/nitrogen mixtures tested.
[0072] Finally, in Test F (comparative), the addition of 8%
CO.sub.2 to the argon generates an arc stability necessary for
producing the joint but the appearance of the bead is degraded and
areas of delta ferrite remain that are damaging to the mechanical
properties of the joint. The addition of CO.sub.2 does not
therefore make it possible to solve the problem linked to the
formation of delta ferrite, unlike nitrogen.
[0073] These results clearly show that an addition of nitrogen to
argon makes it possible to greatly improve the quality of the
welding of steels coated with a surface layer of aluminum/silicon
alloy. The improvement is even more notable when the nitrogen
content increases, which would encourage at least 8% nitrogen in
argon to be used.
[0074] However, radiographic tests carried out in parallel have
shown that this nitrogen content must not be excessive when it is
also desired to avoid the formation of porosities in the deposited
metal. Indeed, the radiographic tests carried out on the beads
obtained in Tests B to E show that for nitrogen contents ranging up
to around 6%, the level of porosities is acceptable, that is to say
in accordance with the recommendations of certain standards, such
as the standards NF-EN 287-1, NF EN ISO 5817 and EN 462-1 W10.
[0075] On the other hand, starting from an addition of 8% nitrogen
to the argon (Test E), porosities are sometimes encountered at the
beginning of the weld beads. These porosities mean that the joints
produced with this percentage may not be in accordance with the
standard.
[0076] It is therefore preferable to limit the nitrogen content to
around 6% or to provide appendages at the start and end of the
bead, where the porosities were encountered.
[0077] In addition, micrographic tests were also carried out so as
to visualize the structure of the beads after welding.
[0078] These tests revealed, for the beads obtained within the
context of Test A, a ductile phase in the form of white areas due
to the dissolution of aluminum and of silicon originating from the
Al/Si layer covering the parts. These areas contain delta ferrite
which is damaging to the mechanical properties of the welded
joints.
[0079] Conversely, after examination of the beads obtained within
the context of Tests B to E, it appears that the delta ferrite
areas are significantly reduced by the addition of nitrogen to the
shielding gas. Starting from 4% nitrogen, the delta ferrite areas
no longer appear in the weld metal zone.
[0080] This demonstrates the advantage of the addition of nitrogen
to argon when it is desired to avoid the formation of delta ferrite
areas in the weld beads produced on steel parts coated with an
Al/Si layer, such as the steels of Usibor type. It should be noted
that additional tests have shown that all or some of the argon
could be replaced by helium, without loss of the benefits resulting
from the addition of nitrogen.
[0081] Hence, use is made of a proportion of nitrogen generally of
less than 10% by volume, preferably between 4 and 8% by volume,
advantageously between around 5% and 7% by volume, and more
particularly of the order of 6% by volume, the remainder being
argon and/or helium.
* * * * *